More progress

Had a great day in Palmerston North yesterday.  I went to the Saturday sewing club for a few hours and met all my old friends.  It was wonderful to see them again.. in fact, I felt I'd never moved!! I am always in awe of the work that Liz G does.. She is so talented and imaginative... Look closely at this wallhanging she made.  The reindeer antlers are the hands of her little grandson and the head is his foot.  Clever.... VERY!  I think Liz should have a blog with all her amazing ideas.

I made some progress on a bag for my granddaughter.  Olivia liked this fabric when she was here in August.  Unusual for a 5 year old?  I used some flowers left over from the other bags I made to embellish it and added more buttons. 

I didn't get anything else done but had a lovely time with my friend Carol catching up and exchanging ideas.  I met their cute little puppy, yet to be named and the food at Carol's is always delicious. We went shopping together which I really enjoyed,... I hate shopping but with a friend and at leisure it is okay.  However Imagine this... 5pm two adult women standing at the doors of a big retailer waiting for them to open.. looking for the 'green button' as we were sure they were closed since it was 5pm... but ... then seeing the sign PUSH!  They weren't automatic doors!!

Came home to be in the studio for A TV One production.. Can't say anymore but I'm sure NZ's will work it out... 10 more sleeps.. I think!

ONly crappy thing that happened this weekend is I came home, went to get my sewing machine out of the boot and the handle has come loose again... it was fine when I put it in at PN and I packed stuff around it so it hadn't moved... yet it is broken second time in 2 years... Don't buy a Bernina!!!

Four nights to

finish the bag for Olivia
Cushion cover for Mum
Book Bag for Alex

Christmas cards tonight.. that is a must!

Food shopping on Wednesday after work.

Advent Christmas Blog

A christmas gift every day


I just stumbled across this blog which has a neat christmas gift idea on every day.  Beautiful little quilt called silent Night.. oh have I got time... eeek

Right I'm on the road.. going to see my quilt friends in Palmerston North. Bug seems to be at bay at 7am and I'm not gonna even think about it...  hehehe

UPDATED Finished just in time

Two little handbags for 6 & 4 year old girls

2 more to go ... Guess what I'm doing for the weekend!! 

Chris.... these were made out of fabric from my stash so not sure if you can still buy it.  I bought it from spotlight I think but I know some of the quilting shops had same flowers but larger and made quilts with it. 

The flowers on the top were made from same fabric. 

I ironed Steamaseam on the back and then put contrasting fabric on that.   I did freemotion stitiching all over them (have only done it twice before)... quite inpressed with the pink one above.. the tension wasn't good so it was bringing the cream through.. but it looks great haha.

A few buttons (see the frog and the bumble bee.. gorgeous.. they were a gift from my friend Chris at Diet Coke Rocks), bit of ric rac and all done.  I'm thinking the handles could be a bit wide for little girls but that's what it said in the pattern.??

Oh goodness.. It's 6.30pm .. I've been home since 3 and done nothing except searched the net for a pattern..  I want to have a go at making book stands with bean bag stuff in them.  Seen them in the stephens shops for $50!!!  My neighbour would love one so I thought I could make something similar!!  Can't be too hard..

Hey take a look at these gorgeous half eaten gingerbread ornaments... so sweet.. will I have time... ???http://www.elsiemarley.com/pattern-for-a-half-eaten-gingerbread-man.html

Right I'm off to get something done.  If I'm feeling better tomorrow I'm off to PN.  (This bug just feels like morning sickness but hey, just because it's christmas it ain't the immaculate conception!!!)

Footprints

Don't ya just love that Footprints poem.. you know about some people come into your life for a reason...
I got this lovely warm and fuzzy email from a colleague today...
"I love the Forest Gump theory.. life is like a box of chocolates, and ya never know what yer gonna git!  The beautiful thing about you is that you're a Caramel chockky with a 'soft centre'. Delicimo on the outside and even more beautiful on the inside.  Never give up being as flavoursome a personality as you are, and never allow anyone to crush your heart or spirit.. cause you deserve to be treated like the Princess you are."

Well yeah, it's warm and fuzzy but old chooks need that now and again. Sadly he's been pushed into leaving the company.  I wish him and his family well and I'm sure he'll find another job soon where he will be treated also with the respect he deserves.

Here are the two little bags I've made for his little girls, 6 and 4.  They're not quite finished yet but tomorrow night.  Will have to be in the post by the end of the week.  I've just finished quilting the 5 flowers on top.  2 more to go and then I'll put buttons in the middle and sew them on.. And then all finished.  I just wanted to do something because he has been a great person to work with and a good friend. 

In Loving Memory

Isn't this rose beautiful.  When my Dad passed away last September someone gave Mum the Rose "In Loving Memory".. Mum gave it to me and I took it back to PN and it wilted and all but died.  There was the barest green showing but it never did anything last summer.  I decided to perservere like my Dad would and bought it to Windy Wellington and here is the first flower.  I have picked it because it is so beautiful and the wind will ruin it.  And it smells devine. 

My Dad loved growing roses.  He spent hours every day amongst them .. a few years ago he counted and there were 199.. which included 35 of my roses, he gained ownership of when I went to Oz.  Sadly they've been depleted over the last two years with the garden being minimised for Mum.  I wasn't around to 'rescue' any but I plan to take cuttings of what's left next year.

Stop Christmas I can't catch up

A long night and my Christmas tree is up.  Why I moved all the furniture just to fit in the tree I'll never know.  I'm way behind on making Christmas presents now!!!  Grrrr.. But it look's okay.  I have a habit of buying new Christmas ornaments in the post Christmas sales and have surprised myself by how many different Father Christmas's I have now. 

Some I've been given too like the cute one with FC upside down in a globe.  My grandson Cam bought that one for me last Christmas out of his pocket money. 

There is nothing more heart warming than a present from a child.  Last weekend my granddaughter Olivia gave me some 'gingerbread men figures' she'd decorated.  I'm going to string them up with some Christmas tinsel so she can see them when she arrives. 

Tomorrow night and the next 14 days will be sewing madly.  I have to make bags for Olivia, my two daughters and a colleagues two daughters.  I want to make a cushion for my Mum, placemats for the Christmas table and maybe a bag each for my sisters if I have time.

The Bag Lady and things

I was going to take a photo of the bits for the train advent calenders.  I see they are still available at The Warehouse though $15 and not $3 that I paid in January. 

I can't get much in the drawers but I've put letters of the alphabet onto magnets spelling words

Happy Xmas Holidays Cameron
Merry Xmas George, Olivia, Alex

they'll have a letter in each drawer so they can put them on the fridge and guess the words

I've bought balloons, little bouncy balls, Xmas bells, stickers which all fit in the drawers and I'll make up some vouchers!!  I'll also put some $1 coins in (thank you Carolyn)

and I'll put some Lucky Dip Vouchers in too as I got tennis balls, glow in the dark stars, magnetic xmas ornaments, Le Snak, and a few choclate things.

I was going to take a photo but my battery has gone flat.  So better charge it up.  Tomorrow night is our work xmas do... not many go but hey, it's a free meal and a chance to get to know a few more staff.

And Friday I"m heading off to Napier.  Sadly my wonderful Uncle has been told he now has Ca Liver.  (He had a successful op 14 months ago for Bowel Cancer.   He can't have any treatment.  It is so so sad. Friday is the anniversary of my Auntie's death last year and I don't want Uncle to be alone so I'm taking the day off and going to spend a couple of days with him and visit my grandchildren, deliver the trains etc. 

so you may not see me for a few days but I'll take photos as soon as my battery lights up. 

PS I sent my bag photos to a few colleagues at work and one of them put the photos on the news that goes around the country.   I've been called The Bag Lady today.  Cute huh.